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OUR HOUSEby Dana Snyder-Grant [Cohousing communities, begun in Denmark in the early 1970's, are small scale neighborhoods that provide a balance of community and privacy and are a place where neighbors know and care about one another. Individual dwellings are self-sufficient with a complete kitchen, while neighbors may choose to share meals and activities in a "common house" which has its own large kitchen and dining area. At New View Cohousing in Acton, Massachusetts, the "common house" opened in February, 1999.] The sounds of hammers and power saws greet me as I take my morning walk around the community and pass our common house in progress. The workers are steady to their task; usually only one or two seem aware of my presence and may give me a slight wave. They are a focussed, yet friendly, bunch. When my neighbor, Yvonne, asks in her outgoing manner if they are bothered by our dogs that enjoy roaming around them, one worker responds, "Oh, no. I like sharing my morning donut with Fluffy!" A bunch of us laugh when Yvonne tells us this story. No doubt, the builder was referring to Ginger, Jane and her daughter, Brianna's, small white terrier, who is always nosing her way around the community, investigating the outdoor activity of the day. In spite of our neighborhood dogs or maybe due to their inspiration, our common house is slowly rising from the ground. It is our building, not yours or mine. In the evening, many of us find each other there, roaming the rooms as the framing unfolds. I walk into the entry and glance to my right into the main hallway where our mailboxes will be built. I seek them because those mailboxes have become my emblem of community. It will become a natural area for us to mingle and talk together as we review the day's mail. I imagine a bench where I can sit and catch up on the lives of friends who I see less often than we wish, because of work or child care demands. Or there I can sit quietly and read a letter from an old friend. In my mind's eye, I have already created a recycling center in the mail room. I see a large bin where we can throw away our junk mail and never have to bring it into our homes. I run into other neighbors, who are also checking out the work-in-progress, and we wander through the entry/lobby and into the kitchen. We fantasize about the meals that together we will plan and enjoy. The area that will be the pantry is identified by a set of two by fours in one corner that surround a doorframe. Some of us begin talking about how there will be room to stock grains and spices. We wonder whether we will need a kitchen coordinator, or at least a committee. Since a committee structure, along with a consensus process, has been the backbone of this cohousing community, no doubt a working kitchen committee will emerge one day soon. Out of the kitchen, I turn to the right and begin to wander around the large dining-room; many of us are drawn to the windows that look out towards the wetlands. Dori, Nancy and I find each other there one evening, and together imagine a dining room table where we can sit and look out at the magnificent view. I seek out nooks and corners in the lounge at one end of the dining room, where I will be able to find privacy at quiet times of the day. We walk back towards the entry and stop to inspect the children's playroom. Some bemoan the fact that it seems too small, that the kids will soon outgrow it. Others are excited by its contained intimate space, thinking how it will nurture the children. The optimism of one balances out the concerns of another. That balance is one which we have developed in our years creating community together. Learning to respect each other's views has been a valuable process and one which has taken time. Building our common house has not been easy. Financial restraints have left some with disappointment for what we will not have; others have feared that costs will rise. I am aware of my discomfort with this conflict but I remember that we are all human. Now that construction is underway, however, we all seem to feel the excitement. It is different to explore construction of this building than it was for my husband and I to inspect the progress of our home two years ago. It is a distinct feeling to watch this mutual development rather than to stand on the sidelines and watch a neighbor's house being built. We spent so long creating our own homes, that there were times when we all got lost in our self-involved creations. Now it is unique to be in a house which we all own. Nothing is just mine. I have discovered that my body and my mind open up in the common house. I feel spacious as I wander around the expansive dining room. When I'm in the common house and notice what 'we' have chosen to create, I am witness to a shared achievement. There is no individual ownership here. I truly share the joy. I am ready for our first meal. Back to the New View Community Life page.
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